Mr. & Mrs. Eric Rhodes!! September 8, 2012

 Congratulations, Anne and Eric!!!

 Angie and Charlie

Casey and Eli

Kevin and Julie

Raye and Angie

 Angie and Me!

Me and the beautiful bride!

Blythe andCliff

The gorgeous Sova Gardens

Raye getting frisky in the water fountain!

Kory and Katie

The first dance

Delicious!

The Daisy Award

I have been a nurse for 16 years, and I have to say that this was undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of my career.  I was completely surprised and humbled when the administrative staff and the founders of this organization came to my job a few weeks ago to present me with this award!! 

As I stood there, awkward and bumbling and bawling like a baby, I could only think about how many times I've thought that I have the best job in the world.  My patients are the real heroes - they inspire ME, and if anyone deserves an award, it's them!

I had an opportunity to talk with the parents who founded this organization in memory of their son, J. Patrick Barnes, to honor the nurses who cared for him while he was sick.  D.A.I.S.Y is an acronym for "diseases attacking the immune system", and Patrick had an illness called ITP.  Please take time to read about this extraordinary man, and the family that loved him so much that they created such a special foundation in his honor!  The Daisy Foundation

I am blessed beyond words to do what I do.  Some of the most amazing people in the world to me are those I've met throughout my career, as my patients as well as my coworkers! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!

Sheila Smith

Sheila Smith, RN Orthopedics Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa, CA

I nominate Sheila Smith as a deserving recipient of the DAISY Award.  Sheila exemplifies the kind of nurse that the patients & families as well as Nurses, Physicians, and other members of the Health Care team recognize as an outstanding role model.
A young trauma patient was transferred to our floor from ICU.  The patient is 22 years old and was very scared.  She was in a motorcycle accident and had severed injuries to her left arm and left leg.  Sheila was in the room with the patient when the MD came to see her.  The patient complained that her leg didn't feel right.  The patient's knee had popped out of place.  The MD went to put it back in place right there in the room.  Sheila jumped right in and told the patient to hit her PCA button and pulled out her PCA key to give her a nurse bolus. She stayed with the patient the entire time telling her what a great job she was doing.
The same patient went to the OR the following day and came back to us and was in a lot of pain and scared.  She doesn't talk to her parents and we haven't seen any family.  Sheila was in the room with me and offered to wash her hair and braid it for her.  The look on my patient's face was so sweet.  I could see tears in her eyes (joy/appreciation) and told Sheila she would love it.  Sheila stayed true to her word and after she finished her assignments for the dayshift, etc. she went back into my patient's room and washed her hair and braided it.  It was such a nice motherly thing to do and her actions put a huge smile on my patient's face.
Sheila is an exceptional nurse and an exceptional person.  Out of anyone, she deserves this DAISY Award. She demonstrates compassion and clinical excellence in everything she does. She is truly a “hero” in my eyes. One of her greatest qualities is her willingness to help at any given moment while always smiling. Sheila always shows the patients, their families and our staff her love for her job. Her energy and happiness is contagious and the patients love her. As a lead nurse, she is always there to help. Whether it is a difficult IV start or a rectal tube, Sheila is always the first one to jump up and say “I can do it!” She teaches us every day and makes all of us better nurses. She is an inspiration to everyone and every hospital would be lucky to have a nurse like her. My patients consistently tell her that she makes them smile and feel more at ease. Her compassion for people is never ending and she has a heart of gold.
Sheila is just a super nurse. She helps out with all the patients and family members all the time. None of the family members or the patients have every complained about her. She is always ready to help all the nurses, take care of all patient needs and makes sure everyone is comfortable and happy. She totally deserves this award. Always makes sure patient’s pain is under control and never hesitates to call the doctors in the middle of the night. Sheila is just a wonderful, great, caring and super nurse.

Clean-ups and Tune-ups

 Rea "gears up" for a Saturday afternoon of home-improvement chores!

Ni'ke did more watching than helping....  She's an excellent delegator.

Ma-lak's latest passion, the baritone!  He yearns to be a tuba player one day.....

Thankfully he hasn't passed out yet.

Morgan Hill Makos Labor Day Swim Meet

 Morgan Hill has become one of our favorite places to road trip to as a family! We enjoy going to swim meets down here and the drive is always scenic and beautiful (once you get passed the traffic!).  Thanks to a 3-day weekend off, we got to enjoy an "end of the summer adventure" all together for the holiday!

 Ni'ke gets ready to swim!

 

Rea swims the 25 Back and wins!  She got 1st place overall in this event and was the only swimmer to break under 20 seconds!! (She got 19.71)  Good job Rea Sunshine!!

 Ya'shar, ready to fly!

 Ni'ke, happy with her last race!!

 Rea, giving me some love!!  (I'm all covered up today, because yesterday I got a little too pink!)

 Reading....

 Reading....

 Reading some more....

 NOT reading!!!

 Goofing!!

 Sorta reading - the swim meets subscribe to apps on our phone where we can see their heat and lane assignments and see the results of the races instantly by checking our phones!  Loved this, saved us a lot of time and hassle and waiting in line!

 Rea giving her sister some encouragement before her race

 Ya'shar, always all smiles!  We voted him "Most Improved" in our little family poll!

 We had dinner at a yummy and quaint and very authentic little Italian Restaurant in Morgan Hill.  Ni'ke is watching for spiders under the table.....

 What to get, what to get.....

 One reason we love this swim meet is because it's at this huge aquatic center and adjoins an awesome water park!!!  So the swim meet was on one side of the big tall divider, and after the meet was over, we walked around to the other side to enjoy the water slides!

 We were at the park for over an hour, and after waiting in a VERY long line for the water slides, they spent the entire rest of the time playing under this thing!

 The kids and their friend Zuri!  We see him and his dad at almost every swim meet and we've gotten to be good buddies with them both!

 Posing with Lady Liberty at our favorite restaurant, Red Robin!  After a long hard day of swimming and playing, a huge, juicy mushroom -n- swiss burger sounded soooo good!

 The. Best. Appetizer. EVER!!!!!

 We always laugh at the extreme weather changes in the Bay Area!!  When we left Morgan Hill (south bay) it was 88 degrees and gorgeous and sunny!!  We were burning up!  In less than an hour we were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and it was 57 degrees, cold with thick fog, and people were wearing PARKAS!!!!!  "Four seasons in a day," Daryle says.  So true, and we love it.  Home Sweet Home.